VIDEO: Kamloops firefighter wins competition at world challenge

The Kamloops firefighter team racing against Oakville in the team race.

Image Credit: YouTube

October 31, 2016 - 7:00 PM

KAMLOOPS - Some firefighters from Kamloops have just wrapped up six days of competition at the Firefighter Combat Challenge in Alabama.

While Team New Gold/Kamloops didn’t set any records this year, they did have another strong showing at the five day event, which ended Oct. 29.

Mike Brown finished first in the Over-40 category, beating out another Canadian, Darren Van Zandbergen of Oakville. Graham MacKenzie finished third overall in the solo male competition while the team finished third in their category for team events and third in the relay.

Mark Brise, one of the Kamloops competitors, says while the team didn't win the over-all championship, they're proud of their podium finishes.

"We’re the only team at the worlds that finished on the podium for both the team time and the relay," he says. "We like to win but we’re competing against the best of the best."

The competion had teams from 16 countries and roughly 700 competitors, Brise says.

In the past the team has won the team event and set world records. Brise says the team will be aiming for the top again in 2017. The team from Oakville, which won the national competition, consistently challenged the Kamloops team this year, Brise says.

"Oakville is a really strong team," he says. "Canadian firefighters over the last ten years have done just unreal down there."

Some of the competitions were posted online, including this race between the Oakville team and the Kamloops team. Kamloops is the team on the red side.

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